January 17,1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
35 
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Royal Society at 4.30 P.M. Linnean Society at 8 P.M. National Clirys- 
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[antUemum Society, Annual Meeting 7 P.M., Bislionsgate Street. 
19 
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20 
SUN 
2ND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
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•22 
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Society of Arts at 8 P.M. 
PHYLLOXERA. 
>; T gives me very great pleasure to be able to say 
that this insect does not now appear to me such 
a formidable foe—at least, to English cultivators 
of the Vine—as it has been hitherto; nor does 
it now seem such a hopeless task to extirpate it 
from our vineries without sacrificing the Vines 
as it previously did. I would not wish it to be 
understood that this, the worst enemy the 
gardener has, should be underrated nor indif¬ 
ferently regarded; on the contrary, I fully believe it will still 
require the strictest precautions, the utmost vigilance, the 
earnest and combined efforts of every cultivator, whether in 
the vinery or in the open garden, to stay its progress. 
As to stamping it out—well, I never yet believed in the 
impossible creed, and will therefore say no more on that head, 
but would rather urge upon every individual who cultivates 
a Vine, whether in a pot for sale or in the well-appointed 
vinery or on the cottage wall, not to harbour this insect 
thoughtlessly nor ignorantly, but to make himself acquainted 
with its nature and economy as soon as possible, and when 
they find it *to destroy it instantly. Immediate, deter¬ 
mined, and combined action would certainly go a long way 
towards stamping it out; but while it is permitted to remain 
undisturbed in our vineries, to multiply and pass through its 
various stages, and to eventually assume its winged form, 
whereby it may be wafted to new stations to form fresh 
colonies, extermination is indeed a vain hope. 
As to the individual who has ventured to designate the 
wholesome fears which most gardeners entertain of this pest 
as a needless sensational scare, the worst I wish him is that 
he may never from personal experience of its terrible powers 
of destruction have cause to repent the use of such language. 
But after the numerous instances of the serious havoc it has 
caused in this country during the last twenty years, which 
attacks will necessarily increase while such heedlessness 
is shown, thoughtless expressions should not, I think, be 
allowed to pass without reproof. We know that in everyday 
life, as the most simple and trivial actions of the least of us 
may influence someone either for good or the reverse, so 
also from our attempts as scribes similar results may accrue. 
In attempting to exterminate this insect from our 
vineries it will, I think, be requisite that the present system 
of cultivation should be considerably modified, also that 
somewhat greater preparatory arrangements and expenses 
should be incurred than have hitherto been thought neces¬ 
sary. This insect is so minute as to be almost invisible in 
its migrations. It attacks that part of the Vine more 
especially which is the least easy of inspection, and vhere it 
is the most difficult to detect and destroy. It increases in 
numbers so rapidly and consumes the roots so voraciously 
that its presence also may not be suspected by the k( enest 
observer till considerable injury has been effected, even to 
such extent as to seriously impair in a few months the 
vitality of the strongest Vine. It therefore becomes impera¬ 
tively necessary that, if possible, some simple and effective 
N®. 186.—Y ol. VIII., Third Series. 
antidote should be employed which, by its frequent periodical 
use, will act not only as a safe and convenient preventive, 
but also as an effective destructive agent. 
Should annual inspection of the borders and roots be 
instituted it can only be done with safety at the fall of the 
leaf, and then only partially, nor without the Vine receiving 
at least a slight check, nor can it be accomplished without 
incurring considerable expense in labour. But what is far 
worse is the damage the insect is capable of inflicting during 
this interval of time, and when found the Vines, borders, 
and everything else pertaining thereto must, under existing 
circumstances, be swept clean out and burnt, so as to effect a 
perfect riddance of the pest. New borders must then be 
made and fresh Vines established with the fervent yet some¬ 
times fruitless hope that it will not again appear. 
This loss of time, these difficulties and expensive opera¬ 
tions, tend to show how invaluable must be a simple and 
efficient preventive; they also tend to justify most con¬ 
clusively an increased preparatory expense which shall 
secure immunity from its attack. One of these agents, 
which in some of the continental vineyards has, we are 
informed, been of some value, is sulplio-carbolate of potash. 
How frequently, or in what particular quantities it has been 
used, I do not know, but we are informed it has been applied 
as a surface dressing, and either watered-in immediately or 
else been permitted to remain on the surface to be washed 
down to the roots by rain, where it is said to instantly 
destroy the insects and also to act as a fertiliser to the Vines. 
I regret to say that my experience with it as a destructive 
agent has not been very satisfactory. I can scarcely believe 
that it was not applied in sufficient quantity, but whether 
the water being allowed to remain in the vessels with the 
compound tended to counteract and neutralise it I cannot say. 
As will be seen below, it had no appreciable effect in 
destroying the insects, and, as far as my experiments went, 
they tended to show that it is of little value for this 
purpose. 
Pieces of Vine root from 6 to 18 inches in length, and 
covered with phylloxera, were placed in five different vessels, 
each of which was numbered. The roots were covered with 
loam, water was then introduced, and afterwards the sulpho- 
carbolate of potash was added in quantities as follows :— 
Vessel. 
Gallons of Water. 
Sulplio-carbolate of 
Potash. 
No 1 
1 
. 1 oz. 
No 2 
1 
2 ozs. 
No 3 
1 
. 3 ozs. 
1 
4 ozs. 
No. 5 
. 1 
pure soft water only. 
This was done on November 12th, and after twenty-four 
hours’ submersion the roots and insects were carefully 
examined under a magnifying power of 70 diameters, or 
4900 times superficially, when nearly every insect was 
found to be alive. Being otherwise engaged at this time, I 
could not examine them again till the 17th, five days after 
submersion, when all were found to be dead, not only in the 
vessels which contained the potash, but in that which con¬ 
tained only pure water. 
On November 19tli I again prepared the vessels and 
roots precisely as before, with the exception that different 
and greater quantities of potash were used, as follows:— 
Vessel. 
Gallons of Water. 
Sulpho-carbolate of 
Potash. 
No 1 
1 
2 ozs. 
No 2 
1 
3 ozs. 
No 3 
1 
4 ozs. 
No 4 
1 
8 ozs. 
No. 5 
. 1 
pure toft water only. 
Pieces of root taken from each vessel were examined under 
the same power as previously used, after twelve hours sub¬ 
mersion, when, in each instance, the insects were found to 
be alive. On the 20th they were again examined after 
thirty-six hours’ immersion, when from cO to GO per cent, 
were found alive in each vessel. 
No. 1842 —Vol. LXX., Old Series. 
